Thursday, May 29, 2014

ASUS Introduces the PB287Q True 4K/UHD Monitor-- The ASUS PB287Q delivers the best PC viewing experience for visual artists, work professionals, gamers and home consumers with amazing image realism and clarity --

Fremont, CA (May 28, 2014) - Open your eyes to breathtaking levels of detail with the award winning ASUS PB287Q True 4K ultra-high definition (4K UHD) 28” monitor designed for prosumers and gamers. The ASUS PB287Q delivers next-generation 4K UHD visuals with resolutions 4 times greater than Full HD for extremely productive multitasking and stunning image clarity that has to be seen to be believed.

Capable of displaying 1.07 billion colors, the PB287Q delivers outstanding color reproduction and saturation with smoother color gradations for a more natural-looking transition between hues. The PB287Q also delivers an impressive 1ms (gray-to-gray) fast response time and a 60Hz* refresh rate for fluid and responsive visuals needed to experience today’s games or video content to their fullest with lifelike realism.

Extensive connectivity with class leading egronomics The ASUS PB287Q features extensive connectivity options that include DisplayPort 1.2 for true 4K/UHD content support at refresh rates of up to 60Hz, two HDMI ports, with the second HDMI port providing MHL support. Users can also use the MHL connector to view content from their mobile device on the PB287Q while charging the mobile device at the same time.

There is also Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and Picture-by-Picture (PbP) support, with users being able to switch between video sources easily. PiP mode lets users display native resolution content up to 1080P from a second input source in a window placed in a corner position of their choice. PbP mode lets the user connect two PCs to the same monitor and view the desktops of both simultaneously on one screen that is split into two.

The PB287Q features a slim, ergonomic design with a full range of swivel, tilt, pivot and height adjustments to provide the user with an ideal viewing experience.The PB287Q is also VESA mount compatible for wall or stand mounting.

ASUS-exclusive technologies for stunning imagesThe ASUS PB287Q features the new SplendidPlus™ Video Intelligence Technology that optimizes videos and images by enhancing color brightness, contrast, and sharpness. It features two new modes —Reading and Darkroom — in addition to the Scenery, Standard, Theater, sRGB, Game, and Night View modes found in previous versions. The PB287Q also comes with ASUS EyeCare Technology, which adopts Flicker-free technology and uses DC adjustment backlighting to reduce onscreen flicker and provide a comfortable viewing experience. ASUS VividPixel Technology adds to the PB287Q’s crystal-clear and detailed visuals by enhacing image outlines and reducing noise bars.

Availability & Pricing ASUS PB287Q True 4K/UHD Monitor will be available in mid-June at leading resellers in North America. MSRP pricing will start from US $649 and will vary by country. Please contact your local ASUS representative for further information.

1Specifications, content and product availability are all subject to change without notice and may differ from country to country. Actual performance may vary depending on applications, usage, environment and other factors. * PB287Q can support true 4K UHD content at 60Hz refresh rate via DisplayPort 1.2.

About ASUS ASUS is a worldwide top-three consumer notebook vendor and maker of the world’s best-selling, most award-winning, motherboards. A leading enterprise in the new digital era, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home and office, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, displays, desktop and all-in-one PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia devices, wireless solutions, networking devices, tablets and smartphones. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 4,256 awards in 2013 and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with its Eee PC™. ASUS has more than 12,500 employees around the globe with a world-class R&D team of 3,800 engineers. Company revenue for 2012 was approximately US$14 billion.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

FREMONT, CALIF., USA – May 19, 2014 - Patriot, renown for extreme performance, reliability, and innovation in the world of DRAM, flash products and mobile accessories, today builds on its mobile accessory ecosystem with the launch of the SmartShell, FlexFit, and SlimShell cases for iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPhone 5/5S. The SmartShell, Flexfit, and SlimShell are the perfect convergence of protection, performance and fashion.

It’s no secret the use of Apple’s iPad and iPhone have spread faster than most every other form of consumer technology in history. This has brought about the need for protection of these expensive devices that power us through our days. The Patriot SmartShell, FlexFit, and SlimShell case lines offer unique, stylish solutions for those looking for protection, without compromising fashion as so many other options do. SmartShell, FlexFit, and SlimShell offer distinctive fabrics and colors that stand out from other cases, while still offering 360-degree device protection. SmartShell and FlexFit also offer popular features such as sleep modes and build-in adjustable stands.

SmartShell for iPad® Air and iPad® mini The Patriot SmartShell features 360 degree, edge-to-edge protection to keep your tablet safe from scratches and cracks. The integrated polycarbonate shell protects your iPad Air and iPad mini against bumps and drops while the protective fiber material covering the screen offers an extra layer of protection. SmartShell’s slim profile adds minimal width, keeping your iPad thin and portable. The Smart Sleep Function wakes and sleeps your iPad when the cover is opened or closed, while the quad fold cover transforms into a build-in stand, allowing for multiple viewing and typing angles. Accent colors contrast inside from the outer fabric for a sleek and stylized look.

FlexFit for iPad® Air and iPad® mini The Patriot FlexFit offers complete protection for iPad Air and iPad mini, shielding from damage while still allowing easy access to all buttons and ports. A protective microfiber material covers the screen while providing an extra layer of protection from scratching. FlexFit’s slim profile adds minimal width, keeping your iPad thin and portable. The Smart Sleep Function wakes and sleeps your iPad when the cover is opened or closed, while its unique bi-fold design allows for multiple viewing and typing angles. With unique fabrics and flashy accent colors, FlexFit turns your iPad into your newest fashion accessory.

SlimShell iPhone® 5/5s Case The Patriot SlimShell for iPhone® 5/5s features duel-material construction making it a stylish one piece case with textured inlays for enhanced grip. The case’s thin and light design keeps your phone ultra-portable and does not hinder your access to the camera or buttons. The polycarbonate shell protects your iPhone against damaged caused by bumps and drops, while the elevated beveled edge protects your screen from scratching when it is laid face down. The widened camera opening reduces glare, making SlimShell optimal for taking photos. With five different colors, you can match SlimShell to match any outfit or mood and keep your iPhone looking fashionable.

“The new Apple iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPhone 5/5s offer remarkable increases in mobile computing horsepower,” said Saeed Arash Far, Director of Engineering at Patriot. “Because of this, they add many new dynamics to how people get through their daily routines. Protection of these devices is key to keep people mobile and productive. This is why Patriot introduced the SmartShell, FlexFit, and SlimShell that offer better protection and style than competing brands.”
SmartShell for iPad® Air and iPad® mini - Elevated bezels for screen protection when lying face down - Enlarged camera opening to eliminate any reflective glares - Slim Profile - Impact Protection - Multi-Position Stand - Smart Sleep Function
FlexFit for iPad® Air and iPad® mini - Multi-Position Stand - Slim Profile - Impact Protection - Smart Sleep Function
SlimShell iPhone® 5/5s Case - Dual-Material Construction - Slim Profile - Impact Protection - Enlarged camera opening to eliminate any reflective glares
Availability The SmartShell’s MSRP is $39.99, FlexFit’s MSRP is $34.99 and SlimShell’s MSRP is $29.99. All of these product will be shipping at the end of May.
About Patriot Patriot designs, manufactures and markets high performance, enthusiast memory modules, flash memory, and mobile accessory products. Patriot products have become world renown for their extreme performance, reliability and innovation. Patriot sells its products through original equipment manufacturers, retailers, e-tailers and distributors throughout the world with operations in North America, Asia and Europe. Patriot Memory LLC was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Fremont, California, USA.

All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Fountain Valley, CA – May 12, 2014 − HyperX®, a division of Kingston® Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced its three memory product lines: FURY, Genesis and Predator, offer a series of dual-channel kits compatible with the new Intel® fourth-generation Core™ i5 and i7 processors and Intel 9 series chipset. HyperX worked closely with leading motherboard partners to guarantee compatibility and the highest performance.

Compatible Intel HyperX memory is available in frequencies ranging from 1333MHz to 2800MHz, and in various combinations from 8GB to 32GB in kits of two and four. A complete list of dual-channel compatible kits is available here. HyperX memory is 100-percent tested and backed by a lifetime warranty, free technical support and legendary Kingston reliability.

HyperXis the high-performance product division of Kingston Technology encompassing high-speed DDR3 memory, SSDs, USB Flash drives, and headsets. Targeted at gamers, overclockers and enthusiasts, HyperX is known throughout the world for quality, performance and innovation. HyperX is committed to eSports as it sponsors over 20 teams globally and is the main sponsor of Intel Extreme Masters. HyperX can be found at many shows including Brasil Game Show, China Joy, DreamHack and PAX.

HyperX® is a division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer. Established in 2002, HyperX is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, USA. For more information, please call 800-337-8410 or visit www.kingston.com/us/memory/hyperx.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

When it comes to sound, it is easy to think of high quality
speakers, head phones and good music. But it is easy to forget about protecting
our hearing. After all, hearing protection should be even more important. ACS
makes some amazing custom molded in-ear-monitors. Many may not realize that
they make some excellent custom molded ear plugs. Up for review today is the ACS Pro 17 Custom Molded Hearing Protection.

Features and specs:Tailor made for you
The PRO-17 is custom-made using soft medical-grade silicone so you get the very best in isolation and fit allowing you to wear them for hours at a time without fatigue or discomfort. Each earpiece is manufactured to the highest standards ensuring you get a comfortable, discreet and effective hearing protector that can be fitted quickly, easily and securely every time.

Build Material

40 Shore Silicone with SteriTouch

Mold Type

Canal Mold

Standard Color

Clear

Items included...

Carry Pouch

Wax Pick

Comfort Cream

Care and Instruction Booklet

Optional extra's...

Grips to aid removal

Cording - $10.00

Color (see chart below*) - $10.00

Laser Etching - up to 10 characters - Available soon in the US!

The custom ear plugs came in a small box. Opening the box
revealed the owner’s manual, wax loop, and a small zippered leather carry case.
Opening the case showed the two small custom ear plugs. I loved the soft medical
grade silicon that they are made out of. Quality of materials used was
excellent as was the quality of construction.

Having previously reviewed the
ACS Tl IEM, I was already familiar with their quality. How well did they work? Perfectly! Providing -17db of noise reduction, they are not designed to
block out all noise. They were just designed to significantly reduce it. And they are designed to provide a flat response across the entire frequency spectrum. Not only that, their vented design reduces occlusion, so vocals sound more natural. But
reducing noise level is only part of the equation. Wearing them in your ears,
and at times for extended periods of time. So having them be comfortable is
also a huge piece of the puzzle. This was achieved in spades. The ACS performed
perfectly as designed. They significantly reduced noise, was built well to
provide years of use, and they were comfortable to wear, even for extended
periods of time.

An additional nice feature is they are future customizable. The included filter of this model provides -17db of noise reduction, but you can use different filters. Depending on the loudness of your environment, you can easily swap out the filter for a more robust filter to further reduce noise. So there is no need to have more than one molded ear plug, just get different filters.

Bottom line, I would easily recommend the ACS Pro 17! They
performed just as advertised. And I loved the soft silicone which made them
comfortable to wear, even for long periods of time. I even forgot that I was
wearing them! With an MSRP of $185, they are worth every penny for the protection they provide. Based on their design, features, quality and performance, they
have earned our Editor's Choice Award. For more info, check out their
website at www.acscustom.com.

Munich HIGHEND Show, May 15-18, 2014 -- Following AURALiC's CES 2014 introduction of its Lightning Streaming technology, the industry's first whole-house, high-resolution streaming solution that supports both Double-Rate DSD and DXD, the company is now debuting its first product in the Lightning family -- ARIES -- here in Munich.

The ARIES serves as a "bridge" between music files on network storage or high quality online streaming services and the consumers' DAC -- enabling DACs for the first time to stream high-resolution music quickly and wirelessly in virtually any sampling rate, including DSD, Double-Rate DSD and DXD.

The inputs of ARIES include Dual-Band high-speed WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0 port. The outputs are USB audio host buffered by AURALiC's patented ActiveUSB™ technology; low jitter digital audio outputs: AES/EBU, Coaxial and TOSLINK. The USB audio host can deliver PCM from 44.1 to 384 KHz at 16-, 24- and 32-bit resolutions as well as DSD, Double-Rate DSD for compatible USB DAC. The other digital outputs are limited to 192 KHz at 24-bit in maximum according to S/PDIF standard.

By using OpenHome structure which is adopted by U.K-based streaming solution manufacturer Linn, ARIES as well as all other Lightning based products support several advanced functions such as on-device playlist that allow control software to turn off during play and complete supporting of multi-room, multiple control points -- functions that are not part of the legacy standards of the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).

ARIES is bundled with AURALiC's Lightning DS App. The App has the capability to fully control ARIES to browse your music libraries on your network-attached storage (NAS), to steam high quality music content from service providers like Qobuz and WiMP, to control the playback and to select the hardware settings such as output channel and WiFi network, etc. The App also supports Songcast, a music distribution service that allows users to map computer's sound to any Lightning-equipped system and to map sound between different Lightning systems in the house and streaming sound though Apple AirPlay.

The Lighting DS App is available on the iOS platform now with two dedicated versions optimized for operation on iPad and iPhone, respectively. The Android version of Lightning DS App will be available by September 2014, followed with desktop versions that support both Mac and Windows PC by the end of 2014. ARIES is also compatible with other OpenHome and uPnP AV based control software such as Linn Kinsky and BubbleDS, although those software do not support most of Lightning DS App's advanced functions such as the online streaming and hardware settings.

ARIES also features a 3" OLED display to let users view playback status, and an AURALiC RC-1 remote control to control basic operations such as Play, Pause and Select Track without needing to open the Lightning DS App.
"ARIES will begin a new era in the Hi-Fi industry," said Xuanqian Wang, the President and CEO of AURALIC LIMITED. "We intentionally set the retail price starting at $999, an extremely affordable entry point, to offer everyone an opportunity to get onboard and enjoy the convenience and high quality music that modern technology can bring to all. AURALiC has invested and budgeted more than $1,000,000 to develop the Lightning Streaming system. We are committed to providing continuous, free online upgrades to improve the performance and compatibility for our solution, as well as to add new exciting functions support in the near future such as local storage playback, DSD upsampling, room acoustics correction and multi-channel."

The ARIES Streamer Bridge will be available in two models, with shipments starting in June:

The two models, in handsomely designed enclosures as futuristic as the technology inside, are identical in computing calculation ability; software function and upgrade support plan in the future. The dimensions of both are: 9.8"x 7.9"x 2.75"W/D/H (25cm x 20cm x 7cm). Weight: 1.77 lb. (0.8kg) without external PSU.

About AURALiC Based in Vancouver, Washington and Beijing, China, the U.S subsidiary AURALIC North America Inc. and its parent company, AURALIC LIMITED, are passionately committed to designing, engineering and manufacturing user-friendly audio components that combine modern audio technologies with superior design and functionality, providing music lovers with a new way of enjoying music. Its growing family of products includes the GEMINI Headphone Docks, the VEGA Digital Audio Processor with Class-A preamplification, the 400-Watt MERAK Monoblock Power Amplifier, the TAURUS PRE Balanced Class - A Line Stage Preamplifier and the TAURUS MK II balanced Class-A headphone amplifier.